Preread, Edited, and Reviewed By
Illustrious Q,
Level Dasher
El Oso,
Written for the
Valentines 2020 Follower Appreciation Lottory Winner
Brony Writer
=====================================================================
“Oh, Flurry, you’re going to be so cute tonight. I think your mother is really going to like how your outfit turned out!”
Flurry babbled a happy reply from her foal carrier, which was strapped to the front of Shining Armor’s chest. Shining was walking away from one of the last open shops in Canterlot, his saddlebags stuffed with not only baby supplies but his recent purchase as well. Behind him, the employees of that shop were now swiftly working to close up so that they could get to the festival.
Yes, today was the first day of Twilight’s Festival of Friendship, a grand celebration that was drawing herds of ponies from all over Equestria. Every hotel was filled to the brim, and almost every guest bedroom and couch in Canterlot was occupied as well. The trains were running at full capacity, and ponies were coming in by cart and on hoof in a near-constant stream. It seemed all of Equestria was trying to descend on Canterlot for the first Festival of Friendship.
Shining’s sister, Twilight Sparkle, was naturally stressed out to previously unseen levels of Twilighting. This was her first major celebration as a princess, and if it went well, she would likely be starting a tradition. In time, the Festival of Friendship could be as important to Equestria as the Summer Sun Celebration. It was a day when things needed to go at least moderately smoothly.
Even Cadance was rather busy, mostly visiting with business ponies, lords, and ladies who were taking the opportunity to see her when she wasn’t in the Crystal Empire. Normally Shining would be in attendance as well, but he had managed to find a way he could meaningfully contribute to the festival while avoiding meetings and most of the preparation stress.
Perhaps he was doing little more than being a father and uncle to his daughter and niece respectively, but today, that was what his family needed most. If he could help them do their jobs by keeping Flurry and Nyx happy, he’d consider that a successful day.
“Are we going to have time for a few more games on our way back?”
Shining looked over his shoulder and down towards Nyx, his adoptive niece keeping pace beside them as they wound their way through the streets of Canterlot. “Didn’t you get enough of that on our way to the dress shop?”
“Maybe, but Twilight said we need to be back in time for dinner. We’ll be back well before that at this rate, so… we have time for a few more games, right?”
Shining chuckled, turning his head forward and looking down at Flurry. “What do you think, Flurry? Do you want to watch Nyx play a few more games?”
Flurry giggled and clapped her forehooves together. Shining could guess that it was just Flurry being happy and enjoying being spoken to, but he decided to also construe her reply as a positive vote on the idea.
“All right, we can make time for a few more games.” Shining gestured, making a right turn at the next intersection so they could take a slightly longer loop back to the castle. Soon, they were passing temporary stalls that had been set up for the Festival of Friendship. Business and entrepreneurially minded ponies were happily enjoying the festival by selling their wares to the near-constant flow of tourists.
As the crowd grew denser, Shining stopped briefly to heft Nyx onto his back. Then, as they resumed moving through the crowd, he glanced around a moment. Though Nyx and Flurry were oblivious to it, the royal trio had some royal escorts that were dutifully keeping watch while maintaining their distance. Two pegasus guards kept pace above them, and four more guards were trailing behind them, two earth ponies and two unicorns. A well-balanced squad, just in case of trouble.
Thankfully, there had been no trouble yet, and soon they were passing some stalls with games. “Any game catch your eye?” Shining asked.
Nyx turned her head left and right, checking both sides of the street before lifting a hoof and pointing at a game in particular. “How about that one? I don’t think I’ve played one like that before.”
Shining came to a stop in front of the game, looking it over himself. It seemed to be a somewhat mechanical challenge game. For unicorns, you took a metal ring and tried to move it along a long, bendy metal rod without letting the ring touch the sides. If the two bits of metal did touch, a metal buzzer went off. A similar variation was available for earth ponies and pegasi as well, though the position and movement of the ring was controlled instead by a set of wooden pedals that had to be pressed in specific combinations.
“No, I don’t think I’ve even played one like this. Must be pretty new.”
“Do you want to try, too, Uncle Shining?” Nyx asked.
Shining shook his head, moving closer to the booth. “No, I think I’ll just watch. Just be careful; this one looks like it's more about finesse than it is about power or speed.”
Nyx nodded, hopping from Shining’s back to one of the open seats at the stall. The pony running the stall began to explain things, and as he did Shining put down a few bits so Nyx could make a few attempts. He then got in a position where he and Flurry could watch and cheer Nyx on, though… something in the periphery of his vision drew his attention.
Turning his head slightly, Shining Armor looked up towards Canterlot Castle. While some of Canterlot existed in front of the castle, a large portion of it was behind the castle as well. He and Nyx were currently in that position—north of the castle and several stories below it—and from where they stood, Shining could see some of the Festival of Friendship decorations. Yet, that was not what caught his eye.
What caught his eye was an airship that was approaching the castle. As it moved, it shrouded itself in a cloud of thick smoke. He’d almost mistaken it for storm clouds, but they were too dark, too polluted. Yet, as if trying to add to the illusion, he heard a crack of thunder come from the direction of the ship. Someone was dead set on trying to portray that smokescreen as a storm, though Shining couldn’t be sure why.
After glancing back at Nyx and making sure she was still playing her game, Shining made a short, sharp whistle with his lips. Within seconds, one of the pegasus guards that had been following them from above zoomed down and got close to Shining.
“What’s the story with that airship, Sharp Feathers?”
The pegasus guard landed next to Shining and dug into a pouch on his armor before pulling out a scroll. He opened it with his wings and quickly skimmed its contents. “Based on the schedule, that should be Miss Pinkie Pie’s clowns. She ordered some of them to arrive via airship at about this time.”
Clowns. Shining looked back at the airship as it continued its approach on the plaza in front of the castle. An airship that appeared to be covered in black armor, spewing a stream of smoke behind it. Didn’t sound like any clowns he had ever heard of. “Go do some recon at the plaza. Make sure everything is alright, and then report back.”
“Yes, Sir,” Sharp Feathers said, giving a brief salute before he took off and flew towards the castle. Shining kept watching the airship as it continued its approach and then began to land, crashing through one of the stone columns that bordered the plaza. Even if it was the clowns, he’d need to have a word with them about paying damages.
BUZZZZZ
Shining jumped a little and turned his head towards the source of the sound. It, however, was just the game Nyx was playing. She had been close to the end, but the final part of the bendy metal rod was a loop; in the final stretch of completing the loop, she had touched the metal ring to the metal rod, triggering the buzzer.
It looked like the sound had caught Nyx off guard as well, as she briefly looked startled before furrowing her brow. “How do you even do that last part? You have to keep turning the ring and moving it at the same time. That’s hard!”
The unicorn running the market stall chuckled. “Well, I wouldn’t have any prizes left if it was easy. Still, you got a few more tries. I bet you can do it next time.” He used his magic to turn off the mechanical buzzer, and then quickly worked the metal ring back to the start of the bendy, twisty bar. Then another click and the game was ready to go again.
“I’m sure you can do—” Shining had been trying to encourage Nyx, but then he felt a tap on his shoulder. It was one of the unicorn guards. All four of the ground based-troops that had been moving with them had moved in close on Shining, Nyx, and Flurry, forming a tight defensive formation.
“Sir, there appears to be a situation at the castle,” the unicorn, Swift Sword, whispered.
That’s when Shining heard it. It was low, but it was growing in volume. The castle alarm bells were ringing. The mood around the whole city was shifting, and worst of all, there were more airships. They descended out of the plumes of black smoke that had trailed the first ship and positioned themselves all around the plaza. Once they were close to the ground, Shining could see creatures beginning to drop into the city from the newly arrived vessels.
“Prince Armor!” The shout came from Sharp Feathers. He came barreling in towards the group, barely managing to slow down to make a safe landing. The pegasus guard didn’t bother to salute or go through any other formalities. He just looked at Shining Armor, panic in his eyes. “There is an army of satyrs attacking the castle! The unicorn guards aren’t able to fight them back. Their magic just… isn’t working!”
The game Nyx sat at buzzed as her magic released the metal ring. She quickly moved from the seat at the game and onto Shining’s back. “Is my mom okay?”
“I… I don’t know. I raced back here to alert Prince Shining soon after the fighting started. Princess Twilight, Princess Celestia, and Princess Luna were okay when I left, but… P-Princess Cadance…”
A pit formed in Shining’s stomach, his jaw tightening as he slipped into the loud, sharp voice he used to drill soldiers during training. “Out with it!”
“Princess Cadance was turned to stone! She was attacked with a… strange glowing sphere. She tried to protect herself and the other princesses with a shield, but it got through her barrier.”
Shining looked to the sky, seeing more airships now than he remembered there being a few moments ago. A coordinated attack within the defenses of Canterlot. Even if he wanted to throw up a barrier to protect the whole city, the enemy was already inside. Worse, his wife… Shining shook his head firmly. He couldn’t get emotional and go running off to try and help Cadance without a plan. He had to think. He looked to the squad around him, the only ponies still standing calmly. Everyone else was starting to panic, many of them fleeing away from the castle.
“Sharp Feathers, on my authority, have any guard troops not engaged with the enemy forces rendezvous at the—” Shining was unable to finish as they heard a loud crash come from beside them. He, Nyx, Flurry, and the squad of guards turned to see one of the other market stalls nearby had collapsed. From the wreckage, one of the invading satyr soldiers emerged. That first one was soon joined by two others.
“Sir, we have to move you to a safe location,” Swift Sword said as he and the other unicorn guard launched blasts of magic at the satyrs. Yet the magic didn’t seem to do anything. The satyrs rolled their shoulders into the attacks, and the metal of their armor absorbed the energy.
It was anti-magic armor. How could any army have that much anti-magic armor to protect an entire invading force? “Magic users, switch to debris combat!” Shining shouted, his own horn starting to glow. He took hold of the game chair where Nyx had been sitting moments before and used his magic to smash it against the head of a satyr. It seemed to be effective, the satyr becoming stunned, if only for a moment.
Shining saw this as an opportunity to fight back, but… he felt squirming against his chest: Flurry Heart. He looked down at his daughter and saw the look of fear on her face. He scowled as he lifted a forehoof to try and comfort her while still looking at the satyrs. “You’re… you’re right, Swift Sword. Guard our flank, but don’t lag too far behind.”
“Understood, Sir.”
With that, Shining and the squad of soldiers began moving, Shining carrying Flurry and Nyx as they navigated through the streets of Canterlot. Behind them, a few of the satyrs were in hot pursuit. But one was lingering behind, drawing out a smaller spell sphere before smashing it on the ground. After a few moments, the magic that had been in the sphere leaped skyward and burst into a bright white signal flare.
A flare that was seen by the commander of the invading forces.
~~~
“You totally got the last princess.”
Grubber’s claim of victory lingered, even as the final smoke from the dark magic dissipated to reveal the creature Tempest had crystallized. Though it was a pony and had wings, the horn was naught but a party hat that dropped and fell from the creature’s head. Tempest felt her happiness at a smooth and clean operation wither into anger, her horn sparking. “That’s not the Princess.”
Tempest turned, looking to her confection-obsessed lieutenant. “Grubber, get her now!”
Grubber flinched before quickly turning on his heels and running off, shouting to any nearby satyr soldiers that would listen. While he ran off to secure the last true princess of Equestria, Tempest growled and took out her frustration on Twilight Sparkle’s crown, which had been left behind in her escape. She looked to the satyr soldiers still near her. “Secure the castle and suppress any armed counter-attacks. We’ve caught the royal guard flat-hoofed, but it won’t take them long to regroup.”
The satyrs around Tempest nodded, quickly proceeding to the next phase of the plan to secure Canterlot Castle. Still, before Tempest herself could join her forces, her eyes noticed something in the distance. A white flare was rising up from one of the downtown districts of Canterlot. Tempest bit her lip and made a loud, sharp whistle to get the attention of a few satyr soldiers.
“Prince Shining Armor has been spotted away from the castle. You two, get to the train station and make sure it gets locked down. You two, make sure every airship at the docks is grounded. You four, spread out and get word to the forces in the city to keep an eye out for flares. We need to coordinate and surround the Prince.”
The satyrs gave a good firm nod before sprinting off to their designated task. Tempest herself moved quickly, departing the plaza that had been the stage for her initial attack and heading in the direction of the flare.
~~~
“How did they get so close without someone flagging the airship as suspicious?”
Shining Armor moved quickly while his security squad kept a tight formation around him. Presently, they weren’t trying to go to any specific place. Still, remaining in one place in the streets was, at least to Shining, unwise. They needed to keep moving, if only to put distance between themselves and the last place they were spotted.
As he moved, Shining used a bit of his magic to try and comfort Flurry Heart, who was obviously upset by the whole situation. Still, she wasn’t crying, and that was good for them. Nyx sat clutching his back so that they wouldn’t have to worry about her keeping pace.
Normally he’d be leading his guards, but at the moment, he was letting himself be led by his guard detail. Being in the middle of the pack let the guards help him protect the two young fillies, and had the added benefit of giving him some time to think. He needed to understand the situation so he could plan his next move.
“Clowns, Sir,” Swift Sword reported. “Pinkie Pie had gotten pre-approval for a group of clowns to arrive via airship to be part of the festivities. The initial airship came in under that approval using stolen credentials. The lead airship released a smokescreen behind it, allowing the other airships to approach Canterlot without being detected.”
“I warned Twilight not to approve the clowns arriving by airship,” Shining cursed before hearing some flapping wings approaching him. Sharp Feathers had returned from recon again, quickly getting into formation as he flew above the group. “Any updates?”
“A large force is moving on the airship docks. There are also a couple of enemy airships in the air intercepting and boarding any civilian ships that manage to depart the dock. We have unconfirmed reports from the castle that Princess Celestia and Princess Luna have also been turned to stone, but Princess Twilight was seen fleeing the plaza with her friends. We don’t know their current location.”
“Do you think Twilight is okay?” The small question came from Nyx. Looking back, Shining could see she was trying to be quiet, trying to let him and the royal guards handle things, but he could also see how worried she was.
Shining put on a smile to try and reassure her. “If my sister is with her friends, then I bet they’re already trying to figure out a way to save the day. Still, if I were them… they’d be trying to get out of Canterlot so they can regroup. When we can, we should get royal guard scouts into the countryside around Canterlot.
“For now, though, how is the main garrison doing?” Shining asked Sharp Feathers.
“The main garrison is holding out for now, but they are surrounded on all sides.”
Shining gritted his teeth. If the garrison was surrounded, they wouldn’t be able to get in, which meant he wouldn’t be able to take command of the defending troops to try and rally a counter-attack. “Is there any part of Canterlot the attacking forces haven’t reached yet?”
“I… I don’t know for sure, Sir,” Sharp Feather answered.
“I can answer that.”
The new voice, rough, gravely, but stern came from above them. Soon, Shining’s security squad was joined by a group of pegasi in flight suits. The blue base color with yellow, zigzagging accents was immediately recognizable: the Wonderbolts. The lead pony of the flight squad landed next to Shining and pushed up her goggles. She was a brightly colored, yellow mare with a mane that looked like fire.
“You’re a hard stallion to find, Prince Armor.”
“Captain Spitfire,” Shining said, happy to see the Wonderbolt leader. “What’s the situation?”
“Things are going to Tartarus in a fancy, frilly saddlebag and we’re barely slowing it down.” Spitfire snapped in a voice she usually reserved for shouting out new recruits. “Those airships are too tough for us to bring down alone, and the smokescreen they put out is making it so we can’t use lightning clouds to try and zap them. If we could find Rainbow Dash, we could use her Rainboom to clear out the smokescreen and let our weather attack force get to work. But she’s MIA right now.”
“Couldn’t you use some rain clouds to help clear out the smokescreen?” Shining asked.
“If we had rain clouds to use, but Princess Twilight ordered perfect weather for the festival and we don’t keep rain clouds in the weapon stockpile.”
Shining huffed through his nostrils, continuing to move with his security squad as they rounded a corner. They were still just moving, moving without purpose… and it sounded like the defenders scattered across Canterlot were in a similar situation. The chain of command was broken and the smaller groups of soldiers weren’t able to manifest a unified defense strategy.
The enemy forces had air superiority and had seized the castle. The main garrison was surrounded. They had been sucker-punched, and while they were on the ground, their attackers had started kicking them in the gut. The situation was getting worse and worse, and… Shining felt the weight on his body. Flurry Heart and Nyx needed to be kept safe. As much as he hated it, his mind was slowly whittling down to the only order he could give.
“We need… to retreat.”
“Excuse me?!” Spitfire snapped. “I’m sorry, I think I must have breathed too much of that smokescreen up there. Because I’m sure I didn’t just hear you say that you want us to retreat.”
“If we keep trying to defend Canterlot, more of our forces will get captured,” Shining said. “Forces we’ll need to retake the city from these attackers and to defend the rest of Equestria. We need to preserve as much of our strength as we can. Sharp Feathers said the north end of the city still looks clear. That’s where the train station and rail yard are located. We can help citizens of Canterlot evacuate via rail.”
“Only trouble with that is I saw two of the enemy airships parked outside of Canterlot. They’ve barricaded the rail with their ships in both directions.”
“Normally, that would be a problem, but we have the Crystal Empire Bolt.” Shining’s mind flicked to the train that he and Cadance had arrived on, a train engine fueled by magic and composed of crystal. It was one of the fastest trains in Equestria, and the only one of its kind. The prototype had a lot of promise, but its limiting factor currently was Equestria’s railroad tracks. There were large sections of the track where the crystal engine had to go as slow or even slower than normal trains due to the age or curve of the rails. That and it didn’t have the freight pulling capacity of Equestria’s steam engines yet.
“That train with a few unicorns casting some barrier spells, we can blow through the blockage on the tracks heading north,” Shining said. “That will let us open up an escape route as well, and we can make use of every train in the railyard to help get ponies out of Canterlot.”
“I still don’t like the idea of us tucking our tails and running,” Spitfire said.
“Duly noted, Captain, but do you have any other ideas?”
Spitfire was silent for a moment, her jawline tightening. She eventually grumbled deep in her throat. “If I just had somepony that could Rainboom, we could retake air superiority.”
“But we don’t have that right now, and that’s something we can save for our counter-attack,” Shining said before he came to a stop, forcing all the ponies around him to do the same. He looked at Spitfire dead on. “Captain, this is an order. The Wonderbolts are to get word around Canterlot, to civilian and active guard alike. Everyone is to head north to the train station. Canterlot is being evacuated. I need you and your fastest flyers to make sure the message gets out. Civilians are to gather at the train terminal. Guards are to set up blockades to hold back any satyrs from approaching the station. Once the word is out, I’m going to trust you to make sure the blockades are put in tactically advantageous chokepoints.”
Spitfire grumbled but brought a hoof up to salute. “Yes, Sir. What will you be doing, Sir?”
Shining flashed a little smile. “I’m going to make sure the largest group of the Royal Guards we have is able to join in the retreat.”
~~~
“Where did you go, Shining Armor?” Tempest had been navigating the streets of Canterlot with some of the satyr soldiers, trying to pin down where Shining Armor had gone after he had been initially spotted. Yet, no additional white flares had gone up. He had managed to avoid detection, but Tempest knew he was still out there. She could tell there was another commander at play on the battlefield.
The initial scattered response of Canterlot’s defenders was becoming organized. As news reports came in, she could see that all of them were operating on the same orders. North, they were all moving north, and those already in the north were trying to set up crude defenses. She knew they were trying to rely on the train station, but she had some of the Storm King’s heaviest vessels blocking the tracks. And if she needed to, she could destroy the tracks. There would be no escape to the north.
As Tempest was trotting, she noticed movement out of the corner of her eye. She turned to look at it swiftly, her horn giving off a few sparks of preemptive magic. Yet, she soon noticed it was a satyr soldier, running towards her. With the face masks on, it was very difficult to read their exact expression, but she could tell by the haste in this soldier’s gait that he had something important to report.
“What is it?” Tempest asked as soon as the soldier was close, and he replied to her question with grunts, grumbles, and pointing. Tempest had a pretty strong grip on the language, but there were times when they would use a word she didn’t know. Now was such a time.
“The soldiers at the main garrison are escaping using a sparkling… what?”
The satyr repeated the same combination of noises and pointed.
Tempest furrowed her brow, realizing it would be a waste of time to try and play charades. She looked up to the nearby buildings, picking the tallest one, and then looked back at the soldier. “Get me up there,” she said pointing to the roof.
The satyr nodded, quickly moving over to the edge of the building before squatting and putting its claws together. Tempest rolled her shoulder, then broke into a sprint towards the guard. She timed it just right to put her hoof in the cup of his claws, and the soldier then hefted her up. She flew up a few stories, easily clearing the edge of the roof. She rolled once when she landed, and then was quickly back on her hooves and trotting towards the edge of the building.
She could see it now, the royal guard’s main garrison building was off in the distance. She had been sure to surround that place with her soldiers first, to cut off the ability of the royal guard to regroup, reinforce, and resupply. But now… she saw the bulk of the forces from inside the garrison retreating using… a magical slide.
From the top of one of the garrison’s walls, a long magical bridge extended over the blockade she had put around the garrison and connected to a set of rooftops a few blocks away. And even from where she stood, Tempest could see a steady stream of equine soldiers crossing the bridge, though not on their own hooves. They were sitting down and sliding across the bridge, which admittedly looked like it was transporting them faster than if they ran across.
The bridge was being protected by some of the unicorns and pegasi, who tried to keep any anti-magical weapons from striking the bridge. Still, they surely weren’t stopping all the attacks being launched. That meant the bridge was surviving being hit on occasion. That, coupled with the pink color of the slide, told Tempest all she needed to know.
Shining Armor was the one assisting in the retreat.
~~~
“That’s the last of them, Prince Armor.”
Shining smiled, releasing the spell he had been holding for a good while just as a few satyr soldiers tried to slide down his magic to pursue the fleeing guards. Once the slide-bridge disappeared, those satyr soldiers dropped to the ground, landing amidst their comrades who were now swarming the undefended garrison. Still, they could have the building for all he cared. Shining had gotten out the most important thing: the ponies.
“All right, keep going as planned.” Shining moved from the edge of the building back towards where his personal security squad was waiting, keeping a strict guard on Nyx and Flurry. Nyx was helping to keep Flurry calm and quiet, though it was a task that surely was getting more difficult the longer the stressful situation continued.
The soldiers stepped aside, letting Shining get to Nyx and Flurry as his magic picked up and placed his saddlebags back on his back. “You did such a good job, Nyx. You too, Flurry. I know this is all scary, but we’re almost done.”
Flurry giggled happily being patted on the head by Shining, and he saw Nyx try to smile. Yet, she could not make the smile stay on her face. It fell back into a concerned frown within a few seconds. “Where are we going now?”
“We’re going to the train station like everypony else. We’re going to retreat to the Crystal Empire, and once we find Twilight and her friends, we can have them meet us up there.”
“You sure?”
“I am. I know it’s scary, but you’re doing great. Just keep at it a little while longer, okay? Let’s help Twilight by making sure we get someplace safe. That way, she won’t have to worry about us.” Shining strapped Flurry back to his chest and, once he had all his bags on, he turned to the side. Nyx looked anxious, but she nodded and hopped up, returning to her safe spot on Shining’s back.
With Flurry and Nyx secured and the garrison empty, Shining and his security squad followed the last soldiers, who were walking across another magical bridge. With the satyrs swarming the streets, Shining had his soldiers stick to the rooftops. Unicorn soldiers made magical bridges between rooftops, allowing the large force of soldiers to move quickly and unharassed northward, towards the train station.
A few soldiers were even bringing some civilians up to the rooftops, and Spitfire’s Wonderbolts were helping to make sure the satyrs stayed off the roofs with swooping aerial attacks. Tempest controlled the streets and the skies, but Shining Armor and the forces of Canterlot had still managed to find a way to move freely, which was letting the retreat continue smoothly.
“Prince Shining!”
As Shining and his squad kept moving, Spitfire came flying out of the sky and hovered near them. “How’s the situation at the train station?” he asked.
Spitfire landed and began keeping pace on hoof. “We got civilians piling into whatever we can get them into, mostly passenger and freight cars. No trains have left the station, though. The ship that’s blocking the north rail is still parked on the tracks. My squad tried to clear them away, but we couldn’t get it to budge. We’d need more pegasi to make a strong enough wind to push it off the tracks or we’d need to actually seize the ship and fly it away.”
“That or we’ve gotta hope my shield and the Crystal Empire Bolt are enough to knock it off the track without derailing.”
Spitfire chuckled. “Second-guessing your plan, Prince Armor?”
“Just appreciating the gamble we have to take, Captain Spitfire,” he responded, firing back at her use of his proper title. They moved across their current rooftop, reaching another magical bridge being created by some other unicorn guard. They began to cross, only for Shining to notice movement out of the corner of his eye. He turned his head to the left and looked down the street to see a large group of enemy soldiers coming towards them, chasing behind what looked to be a mulberry unicorn.
Except… that unicorn was wearing the same kind of armor, and she was charging up what looked to be very raw, very wild magic around her horn.
“Move!” Shining barked, calling on his own magic. The unicorn below fired her burst of magic, wild and explosive. Shining had never seen anypony able to wield raw magical energy with such destructive force. Still, he formed his shield spell, the shimmering barrier taking shape. The magical blast from the enemy unicorn below hit his barrier, splashing and shooting off to hit the nearby buildings while he and every other pony on the bridge quickly moved to reach the safety of the next rooftop.
“Who is that?” Shining asked, directing his question to Spitfire.
“The enemy commander, Tempest Shadow. She was announced by some lackey when she first arrived in the plaza. She was the one that kicked those spell spheres into the Princesses.”
“She kicked them?” Shining asked as he made the bridge to the next rooftop, continuing their retreat strategy of staying above the streets.
“That horn of hers is broken. Looks like a splintered tree stump on her forehead.”
Shining winced, and he could feel Nyx shift on his back and bring a hoof to touch her horn. Even getting a horn nicked or flicked was extremely uncomfortable for a unicorn. Having it broken… that could not be a pleasant experience.
“Well, broken or not we need to stay ahead of her, especially if she has any more of those spell spheres. Still, if she’s caught up to us, she may know we’re trying to escape by train. Make sure every engine at the train station is ready to leave as soon as possible. Have the defenses set up so the ponies holding the blockades will be able to get out on the last train. And make sure the Crystal Empire Bolt is at the platform with no cars attached. We just need the engine.”
~~~
Nyx sat on the platform of the train station, She was playing a game with Flurry heart using a few stuffed animals they borrowed from the train station’s gift shop, though at times her attention drifted to her surroundings. Just a few steps away was the unicorn guard Swift Sword, who was keeping an eye on them while Uncle Shining was off doing something else. Beyond him, outside the building, squads of royal guards worked briskly to maintain and improve the defenses around the train station.
They had managed to reach the station by crossing the rooftops, and soon after arriving, Shining had gotten the toys and asked Nyx to keep Flurry occupied for a little bit. Playing a little game with stuffed toys was perhaps the last thing Nyx wanted to do right now, but she could tell it was making Flurry feel better, and as a result, she was feeling better, too. Uncle Shining would know what to do, and Twilight was out there somewhere. Nyx knew her mother would be able to save the day again.
She always did.
The sound of hoofsteps took Nyx’s attention away from the game, which involved her stuffed elephant having some babbling conversation with Flurry’s stuffed bear toy. Looking up, she could see Uncle Shining approaching. He was now in full armor, though it was just a regular suit of guard armor. It had likely been borrowed from some other soldier.
Shining put on a smile as he came close and knelt down to Nyx and Flurry’s eye level. “Looks like you two are doing better.”
“Flurry is, at least,” Nyx said, looking to her cousin who had turned her bear upside down to make it do a headstand. “Are we going to be getting on the train soon?”
“Yes, you are.”
Nyx picked up the choice of words, her ears flattening. “‘You are’?” she repeated back at him.
“You and Flurry are going to get on the first passenger train, the one that’s lined up right behind the crystal engine. You’re going to have Sharp Feathers with you. Once you get to the Crystal Empire, Sunburst will be able to help you keep an eye on Flurry.”
“But… where are you going to be?”
“I need to be in the Crystal Empire Bolt, Nyx,” Shining replied, his eyes drifting towards the front of the train station platform, where the crystalline locomotive gently hummed with magic, ready to depart. “I need to make sure that we get the airship off the north tracks, otherwise no one else can leave. We're going to use the Bolt to try and knock the airship off the tracks, but… it’s risky. So we don’t want anypony else going with us that doesn’t need to be there.
“And that means I’m trusting you to keep Flurry safe,” he said, reaching out and using a forehoof to gently pat Flurry’s head. She squirmed and smiled from the attention, and even held up the stuffed bear to show it to Shining, making a few growl noises as she did. “Can you do that for me, Nyx?”
Nyx shifted anxiously, thinking of the many satyr soldiers as well as Commander Tempest. It wasn’t like the other times when there was just one big bad coming after Equestria. This was an army, which reminded her of when the Everfree Forest attacked Ponyville. Even at the height of her power as Nightmare Moon, fighting off an army of creatures of any variety was difficult. And these enemies had anti-magic armor, shields, and weapons.
They were an ideal force for attacking Canterlot.
But Nyx looked to her uncle and saw the determination in his eyes. He had only once saved Equestria himself, when he and Cadance had stopped Chrysalis’s invasion of Canterlot. So many other times, he had needed Twilight to save the day. But… those other times, Twilight was able to save the day because Shining Armor, or somepony else, did what they could.
Maybe nopony could defeat the Storm King right now, but… Nyx had seen all the other Canterlot ponies filing into the train station and rail yard, boarding the trains to try and escape. If Shining didn’t do this, then all those other ponies would get captured, too. But he couldn’t do what he needed to do if he had to worry about Flurry.
Nyx had to help the one way she could.
“I promise, Uncle Shining,” she said.
He smiled as he moved his forehoof from Flurry’s head to Nyx’s. “Thank you.”
With that, Shining bent over and gave Flurry a kiss on the forehead. He then began walking towards the crystal locomotive, joined by a squad of all unicorn guards. At the same time, Sharp Feather came up beside Nyx and Flurry, gently gesturing for them to board the other train.
“Come on, Flurry. Mr. Elephant wants to go ride the train,” Nyx said, trying to use their game to get Flurry to board the train happily. Still, even as they moved with Sharp Feather chaperoning them, Nyx glanced back in the direction of her uncle. His determination, his courage, she couldn’t help but admire it.
In that moment, in Nyx’s eyes, Shining Armor was the coolest stallion in the world.
~~~
Tempest had climbed to another rooftop and was now looking down at the train station. Her army was closing in, forcing the defenders to fall back to secondary and even tertiary blockades. They were tightening the noose, and Shining Armor still hadn’t made a move to try and remove the airships that were blocking the tracks on either side of the station. And even if he did, the crew of those ships had their orders. If someone approached the tracks, tried to storm the ship, they were to open fire on the tracks and destroy them. Damaging the tracks would not be ideal. It would slow their ability to take the rest of Equestria, but it would only be a small delay.
Really, it was only a matter of time.
But then… Tempest saw it. She saw something streak out of the station faster than any locomotive she had ever seen before. She turned her head, and as it got further away her eyes were able to track it. It was a locomotive with no cars attached, and it was unlike any train she had ever seen. It was solid crystal and shaped smoothly and sleek. A magical train, no one had informed her there was a magical train at the station.
The crystal locomotive built up more and more speed as it raced along the relatively straight piece of track between the train station and the blockade ship. Tempest’s mind raced, trying to piece together Shining’s plan. Was he trying to make a break for it, leaving the other trains behind? No, that couldn’t be it. But then what was he trying to do?
Then Tempest saw it. Around the front of the train appeared magical barriers. Multiple layers of magic were being assembled, forming a long, sharp V shape around the front of the train that extended several stories into the air. All the while the train kept picking up more and more speed. Tempest’s eyes flicked to the airship on the tracks, then back to the locomotive, which now bore a resemblance to a shark fin sticking out of the water.
Tempest ran. She leaped over a small gap between two rooftops and galloped towards the train tracks. Yet, she had no hope of getting there in time. The crystal locomotive was careening down the tracks so fast. It was likely at risk of derailing. Still, it would not need to stay on the tracks for much longer.
The train crashed into the side of the airship, which was resting across the tracks perpendicularly. It struck the broadside, and though some of the magical barriers collapsed, the others held strong and broke through the airship. The balloon was cut by the top half of the shark-fin-like barrier around the train, and within moments, the blockading ship was cleaved in two.
“Get to the train tracks, NOW!” Tempest bellowed to every satyr within earshot, quickly causing a cascade through her forces as her soldiers began following behind her.
~~~
Shining smiled as he and the unicorns that had been in the Crystal Empire Bolt ran back towards the wreckage of the airship. They had sliced it rather cleanly in two, with most of the debris falling to either the left or right side of the track. Still, he and his squad worked quickly to remove anything that had fallen onto the tracks, clearing the way for the other trains.
It took less than a minute, thanks to a slew of levitation spells, for the tracks to be cleared. Once they were sure the rail was in good condition, Shining launched a flare into the air. It glowed with his characteristic pink tone, and in response, Shining heard a locomotive at the train station blow its whistle. The trains would begin moving out, evacuating all they could from Canterlot.
“Sir!” Swift Sword shouted, “The enemy is counter-attacking!”
The moment of jubilation ended, and Shining quickly moved to where Swift Sword was standing. They were a short distance out of Canterlot, and even though the trains were moving in their direction, they could see the enemy army pouring out of the buildings and moving towards the tracks. Still, Shining only had one concern.
“Have somepony get in the Crystal Empire Bolt and get it moving. We can’t have it blocking the tracks. The guards at the station that volunteered to defend the trains are already starting to form a defensive line along the tracks. As long as we get the trains moving fast enough, the satyrs shouldn’t be able to stop them. The only one we have to worry about is the enemy commander.”
“And what will we do about her, Sir?”
Shining took a deep breath, scanning the line of approaching soldiers and managing to spot a flicker of magic among them. “Swift Sword, make sure someone in the Wonderbolts gets this message: ‘Be ready for the bounce house.’”
With that, Shining galloped away from the tracks and towards the oncoming line of soldiers, joining some of the other guards to form a defensive line against the oncoming forces.
~~~
“Found you!”
Tempest roared as she brought a blast of magic down on Shining Armor, her energy splashing against a barrier he was able to get up at the last second. All around her, her satyrs were engaging with Canterlot’s guards. It was hoof-to-claw combat, the defenders of Canterlot forgoing magical attacks in favor of trying to keep the satyrs at bay using raw physical strength.
And what Tempest hated the most was that it was working. While pegasi and earth pony soldiers fought on the front line, a line of unicorn soldiers had set up shield spells along the tracks. Even if a satyr managed to push through, they couldn’t force their way through the barriers fast enough. It was a stalemate, though one that surely could not last. More and more of her satyr soldiers were arriving to join in the conflict, and Shining’s forces were dwindling with each defeated pony.
“Where are the young alicorns?” Tempest demanded as she charged Shining Armor again. Her hooves, clad in anti-magical guards, sparked as they hit his barrier, threatening to short circuit the magic.
“I’m not going to let you anywhere near them,” Shining spat as she changed his tactics, shooting out a few blasts of magic and forcing Tempest to retreat before reforming his personal barrier.
Tempest huffed, cursing as her broken horn sparked with energy. She unleashed another wild blast, and once more it splashed against Shining’s barrier but did not break it. If she had her horn, she could imagine piercing through that barrier with a tight, narrow beam like a pin popping a balloon. Soon… soon she’d have it back. She just had to remove a few final obstacles from her path.
Tempest ran at Shining again, striking out with the intent to hit his barrier, but suddenly, Shining dropped his barrier and brought up his own hoof. The metal of his armor clanged against hers as he met her kick with one of his own. Then came the magic again as Shining launched a blast of his own at Tempest. The best she could do was roll her shoulder into the blast, letting her shoulder plating take the brunt of the hit. Even still, she was knocked back.
It seemed the famed shield-casting Shining Armor wasn’t a one-trick pony.
At that moment, the first of the trains from the station began to rattle past. Whistles blew and, from the top of the car, unicorns were hurling spells at the satyr forces. While some of the magic was mitigated by anti-magic armor, other spells were targeted more indirectly. The ground was being frozen, causing some of the satyr soldiers to slip and slide. Other unicorns from the top of the trains were throwing large items.
Tempest herself had to sidestep a hay bale that was thrown in her direction, causing it to bounce and slam into a less dexterous satyr that had been standing just behind her.
It was juvenile, a last-ditch effort to get a paltry number of ponies out of Canterlot. Still, Tempest knew in one of those trains were the alicorns. She needed to stop the trains. The first train had already rumbled past and was now on the far side the airship wreckage, protected by the debris. The next train was coming as well. There was only a small gap between each train, but she had to stop them.
Tempest flicked her gaze back to Shining before turning a hard left and running. She darted between the fighting satyrs and ponies, blasting a few guards who happened to get in her way. She glanced behind her and saw Shining was already in pursuit. She was outpacing him, but if she had to slow down for anything, he’d swiftly close the gap.
Soon, Tempest had found what she was looking for: part of the guard’s defensive line was failing. Her satyrs had pushed through and were using their weapons on one of the barriers acting as a final defense for the tracks. The barrier was pierced, cracked and failing.
All it took was a blast from Tempest’s horn to smash it to pieces, letting her leap through the opening and get behind the unicorn defensive line.
“Reform your barrier. Keep the satyrs out! Do not engage Tempest!”
She smiled as she looked back and saw Shining get through the same opening in the defenses. Smart to keep his forces on keeping the satyrs back, but it meant she could cause some chaos in his backline. As she kept running along the tracks, now heading back towards the destroyed airship, she began firing off quick, short blasts of magic.
But Shining leveraged his magic as well, casting out barriers to protect the unicorns Tempest was trying to attack. The finesse and fine control of a good unicorn horn outshined her raw power. Still, she kept trying. She kept sending out blasts, even as Shining blocked them. She wanted to keep him busy. She wanted to keep him reacting impulsively.
Another train, the third out of the station, rumbled past Tempest as she ran in the same direction. She saw some of the ponies looking out the window at her, obviously scared and panicked. Still, the looks she was getting did not faze Tempest. Her horn built up with magic again, but this time she directed it towards the train.
“No!” Shining’s shout came from behind Tempest just as his barrier spell formed. He was using throw-away barriers. Small, brief shields meant to block a single spell before breaking. Still, he intercepted every blast Tempest tried to send at the train, even as the ponies inside panicked.
The destroyed airship was coming up fast. Still, Tempest kept running at the full sprint, blasting at the train, at the unicorn guards. She acted tactfully, even smiling as she led Shining. Give him no time to think. Give him no time to realize, and then… strike when the moment is ideal.
The ideal moment came when Tempest reached a piece of airship debris that had landed near the tracks, some metal piece now firmly wedged into the dirt. She jumped and brought her hooves to land against the metal. She then pushed herself off, reversing her running direction and bringing herself on a collision course with Shining Armor.
Shining reacted as Tempest hoped he would. He tried to skid to a stop and brought up a barrier in front of him. But Tempest did not attack from the front. The third train rattled on past, and suddenly the traps were empty. They were in the small gap between the trains. Tempest used that opportunity to shift and run on the tracks, juking around Shining’s barrier and coming at him from the side.
Her blast hit him hard, knocking Shining back into the barrier projected by one of his own unicorn guards. He was out of the way, and Tempest was now exactly where she wanted to be. She called on her magic, horn sparking and surging with energy before she unleashed it at the oncoming train.
The locomotive’s pipes burst, its pistons spraying out steam. The engineer, in a panic, slammed on the breaks. The train itself lurched as the locomotive behind it slammed into it. Still, Tempest stepped clear of the tracks and then turned to watch as the escaping trains began to pile up and slow down.
“I do believe that’s the end of your escape strategy, Shining Armor,” Tempest said as she turned to look at the prince, who was getting back to his hooves. Shining himself looked to the train, to the pile-up, and Tempest could see it in his eyes. He saw it, too. The escape for the trains was over.
“Now, I imagine the alicorns were on one of those first trains, so I think I’m going to give you to the count of three to tell me where they are going.” Tempest approached Shining, even as he brought up a barrier spell. “Do that, and I’ll ensure you and your guards are captured with only minor injuries.”
Shining breathed heavily a few more times. She saw the defeat in his eyes, but behind that was still determination. He still had fight in him. “Yes, as much as I hate to say it… you have taken Canterlot. This… would be checkmate.”
Tempest’s brow furrowed at Shining’s words. “This IS checkmate, Shining.”
“Maybe… if we were playing chess. But Twilight’s always been the one good at chess. Me, I prefer a good game of O&O. And in O&O, there is a tried and true tactic when you face something you aren’t prepared to defeat.”
“And what’s that?” Tempest asked, her horn sparking as she prepared to try and counter whatever Shining had planned.
“The art of bamfing out,” Shining said before he pushed his barrier forward. Tempest was knocked back, slammed into a passenger car of the locomotive she had destroyed. As she pulled herself off the ground, Shining cast a spell and launched a signal flare into the air. This one was red, and at the sight of it, almost all the Equestrian forces turned to retreat.
Not all the guards were able to getaway. Some were too embroiled in conflict to be able to disengage, but those that could began to retreat. Pegasi flew straight up, eventually disappearing into the smokescreen high above Canterlot. Earth ponies leaped between the gaps in the cars, trusting in their sturdy legs to carry them away faster than the enemy satyrs. The unicorns began to run as well, but while some joined the earth ponies, many began rushing towards Shining. Soon, a dozen unicorn guards had formed a tight formation around their prince.
Tempest got to her hooves, smiling as she began launching a barrage of magic blasts from her horn. This time, the other unicorn guards were the ones blocking her attacks, combining their barrier strength together to keep Tempest at bay.
Yet, as Tempest worked to try and blast through the defenses put up by the other unicorns, Shining’s horn began to glow. His spell started out looking like a barrier spell, a half-sphere spell that surrounded him and all the unicorn guards that had come to his side. The barrier even extended beneath their hooves, completely encompassing the guards.
Then, Tempest saw the barrier change, the color becoming different, more opaque. And then whoosh, the barrier flew upward. The bottom half of the barrier, which had been a flat surface, sprung out to make the barrier a full sphere. And like a ball bouncing off the ground, that caused the barrier to shoot skyward, carrying Shining and all the unicorns that had been near him.
It was utter insanity. Tempest could only watch as the barrier began falling back down to the ground, where it bounced and deformed again before flying skyward a second time. What was Shining doing? How was this a tactic? Tempest just couldn’t understand it as she watched the bubble barrier fly up into the smokescreen.
Tempest watched, waited, and then… realized that it had been too long. The ball barrier, if it had been bouncing, should have fallen back to earth again. But it hadn’t. She moved quickly, clambering up onto the top of the train to see if Shining and his barrier had fallen somewhere else, but she could not see them anywhere.
She gritted her teeth, horn flaring… he had escaped. At the last moment, Shining Armor had escaped.
Tempest unleashed her raw magic towards the still fleeing earth pony guards with wild abandon.
No one else was going to escape!
~~~
In the skies, Shining Armor laid down inside his barrier spell which had once more taken on a domed appearance. At the top of the barrier were a few hooks that were now supported by long lengths of rope. The ropes were being held by pegasi, namely the Wonderbolts, some pegasi guards, and even some civilians.
“So… that was the famous Bounce House maneuver: the spell that helped you become Captain of the Guard.”
Shining turned his head and saw Spitfire had flown down from the flock of pegasi above and was now flying near him, just outside the barrier. “Yeah, it was,” he answered. “It takes a lot of finesse with a shield barrier to make one bounce like that, especially with occupants inside.”
“So, how many trains got out?”
“Three, just three,” Shining responded, unable to deny the sinking feeling in his chest. “Per procedures, families with young children and the elderly were prioritized. I think almost anypony that met that criteria that were at the evacuation point were on the first trains. But all the others… they’ve been captured.”
“What about our forces?”
“Any pegasus guards that were with us got away. I’ve got as many unicorns with me here as I could wait for. The others will either be with the earth pony guards or captured. Even with best estimates, a lot of the guard was captured.”
Spitfire was quiet for a moment but nodded. “We did what we could, and now we’ve gotta keep doing that. We’ll get you to the Crystal Empire. We should arrive just behind the train with Flurry Heart and Nyx on it. After that, we’ll regroup, and then come back with a plan to kick some flank.”
Spitfire then turned, and Shining watched as she flew back up to the flock. Once he lost track of her among the other pegasi, Shining’s eyes drifted down. The barrier spell had just been carried clear of the smokescreen, so he could now see Canterlot. Streams of smoke rose from several sections of the city, and the joy of the Festival of Friendship was replaced with a looming atmosphere of fear.
Canterlot had fallen, but he was free to fight another day. He could be with his daughter again, even if other ponies weren’t so lucky. Maybe, like in the past, Twilight would find a way to fix everything before he could assemble a new plan. But if she couldn’t, he had to be ready. If Twilight had been captured, he had to be prepared.
If the day wasn’t saved by the Magic of Friendship, he’d have to be prepared to fight back in a far more brutal fashion.
~~~
Memories of that day dance in Tempest’s mind. She stood at a window, looking out at the Crystal Empire from a quiet, isolated sitting room of the Crystal Palace. She had arrived early for her summons and thus had been led to this particular room to wait. It was not the first time she had been summoned to the palace. Princess Cadance had called her on a couple of occasions, but this time was different.
This time she had been summoned by Prince Shining Armor.
A gentle knock came at the door before it opened, and Tempest turned to see the prince. “Sorry for the wait,” Shining said as he came into the room.
Polite and cordial, as if they had never met on the battlefield. As if she had never threatened his daughter. Tempest never understood the capacity for forgiveness that Twilight possessed. Seeing the welcoming look on Shining Armor’s face, Tempest had to wonder if it wasn’t, at least in part, genetic.
Yet, a giggle drew Tempest from her thoughts as someone else scampered into the room. It was the young Princess Flurry Heart, now a few years older than when Tempest had first seen her. No longer a foal, she was decidedly a filly. Full of energy, curious about the world, and—
“Lookout, it’s the terrifying Windigo! He’s coming to freeze us all! I’ll save you, civilian!”
Fully capable of talking and making up wild games. Flurry had positioned herself between Tempest and Shining, taking a playful battle stance. Shining chuckled, flicking his gaze from Flurry to Tempest. “As you can see, I had very important business to attend to.”
“Don’t let me stop you,” Tempest said, taking a step back. She watched as a ruler of the Crystal Empire, a famed master of shield magic, pranced and danced around with his filly, making ghost noises and using his magic to blow gusts of wind. At the same time, Flurry flapped around, playfully flashing her horn with a simple light spell. Eventually, it all came to an end with Shining collapsing onto the floor, playing dead as Flurry stood triumphant.
“The Windigo is defeated! You are saved, civilian!”
Tempest glanced about a moment, struggling to find something to do before she forced a smile. “Hoo… ray?”
“Don’t spend much time around younger ponies, do you, Tempest?” Shining said as he stopped playing dead and got back on his hooves. He then scooped Flurry up, nuzzling her a moment before putting her back down on her hooves. “We’ll play a bit more in a moment, honey. If you’re patient, you can come watch.”
Flurry smiled, excitedly bouncing on her hooves. She then stepped beside Shining, clinging to one of his legs but otherwise remaining quiet. Tempest could only assume this was her version of being patient.
“I can’t say that I do with all my wanderings. From what little I do know, I think I prefer more mature interactions.”
Shining chuckled, and then gently motioned towards the door before walking out of the room. “Nothing wrong with that. Still, thank you for coming. I hope I didn’t interrupt something important.”
Tempest shook her head as she followed Shining into the hallway. “No, I was between jobs and was thinking about heading back south. You caught me just before I left Vanhoover for Applewood.”
“Well, I’m glad we could catch you before you left. I was actually hoping you could help me with something.”
“If you’re inviting me to be part of the Royal Guard, you should know Twilight and Cadance have already tried,” Tempest said. “I know that I’ve built a lifetime of skills around combat, that all my experience is in the military, but I do want to try and stay away from that if I can.”
Shining chuckled as they rounded a corner, heading towards the stadium where the Crystal Empire had once hosted the Equestrian Games. “Yes, Cadance has told me, and no, this isn’t military-related. Though it is something that would lean on your wealth of experience.”
Flurry giggled excitedly, running ahead of the pair of older ponies as they moved from the Crystal Palace to a sky bridge that connected to the adjacent stadium. “Let me guess… you want me to… invade another country and try to steal all the magic from its leadership to stroke your ego and build an evil brand.”
Shining snorted and shook his head firmly. “No, nothing as dramatic as that. I’m actually asking on behalf of someone else, who is… perhaps… trying to do something behind her mother's back.”
Tempest arched an eyebrow before glancing forward at Flurry. “Uh… does Flurry want something?”
“Ice cream!”
Shining made no attempt to stifle his laughter this time. He let out a few hearty laughs as he shook his head once more. “No, it’s not something Flurry wants, and you,” Shining said as he looked to Flurry. “You’ve already had your afternoon snack, so you’ll have to wait for dinner. After that, we can have ice cream negotiations.”
The answer seemed to satisfy Flurry as she pranced happily ahead of them. “I’m going to have chocolate!”
At this point, the trio reached the end of the sky bridge, stepping out into the stands of the stadium. The stadium was composed primarily of crystal, like so much of the empire. Yet, it had been worn down and given a matte finish so that spectators would not be blinded by sparkling gemstones when watching whatever event was being hosted by the stadium. Currently, the stadium looked to be between events, though Flurry could see a single figure running laps on the running track below.
“So then who are you asking for?” Tempest asked as she continued to follow Shining, who was now descending the steps toward the center of the stadium.
“Somepony who wants to have the strength and skills to defend the creatures she cares about, even if her mother is being a touch overprotective.”
As they drew closer to the field, Tempest was able to make out more details of the pony running laps. Dark coated with purple mane, she was small but lean. A few more steps and Tempest realized she wasn’t looking at a full-grown pony. No, the pony running laps was a teenager, and barely so. A pony that had only just become a young adult. Her mind began to tickle with a sense of recognition.
“She’s been coming up here every other weekend for a while now. She usually comes under the pretense that she wants to find a book at the library or just to visit Flurry Heart. And she does do that, but she also spends the time away from Canterlot to train here in the stadium. She wants to live up to the meaning of her cutie mark. Recently, she’s felt that her practice in magic needs to be complemented with physical training as well.”
Tempest, Shining, and Flurry reached the bottom of the stadium seating, stopping near the low wall that separated the audience from the competitors. The pony running laps was coming towards them, and Tempest could now clearly see who it was.
It was Nyx Sparkle. She certainly had the lanky features of a mare just starting her teenage years, though she had more height than Tempest would expect. Then again, alicorns grew tall. It would make sense that they’d be taller than expected, even in youth.
Nyx slowed as she approached, eventually breaking off from the inner circle of the track and trotting towards them. “You’re… here…” she said through panting breaths, smiling as she did. “I was worried… you wouldn’t come.”
Tempest turned to look at Shining, glaring at him. “I might not have, but your uncle was very vague in his summons.”
Shining put on a grin and looked away, refusing to meet Tempest’s glare and instead focusing on Flurry Heart.
Tempest sighed and looked back at Nyx. “If you went through all this trouble, I’m going to guess that you know why I’ve turned down Twilight’s and Cadance's offers for me to join the royal guard.”
“You don’t want to be a soldier anymore. I know,” Nyx said. “But hooves down, when it comes to unarmed combat, you are the best.”
“Those were skills I nurtured out of necessity. They came out of brutal training and my focus on my singular, selfish goal.”
“Yet, I have it on good authority you still keep up with your training.”
Tempest narrowed her gaze. “You’ve been talking to Glitter Drops.”
“I have.” Nyx used her magic to fetch a towel from a nearby bench and started toweling off her neck. “I’m sorry if that was intrusive, but… I’m very good at asking the right questions.”
“It was,” Tempest said firmly, her mind flicking through possibilities, rifling through her feelings. This filly should have been traumatized. There were plenty of older ponies who still had nightmares about the day the Festival of Friendship was so brutally attacked, and Tempest had been forced on at least a few occasions to vacate someplace in Canterlot because she had scared some fillies or colts that had been at the festival.
Yet, Tempest had been sought out specifically by Nyx, who even went so far as to have Shining act as an intermediary. As Tempest wrestled with her own feelings, her brow furrowed. She turned away and began walking back up the steps. “The answer is no.”
“Wait, why!?” Nyx flapped her wings, coming up from the track and landing in the stands next to Shining Armor and Flurry Heart.
“The techniques I’ve learned, nurtured, and even developed are not nice. They are cruel and effective. I had to be able to rise through the ranks of the Storm King’s army. That meant I had to be able to fight creatures larger and stronger than me. I had to fight creatures with hands when I had none and magic when mine was, at best, raw and destructive.
“The techniques I know don’t make sense for a princess of Equestria,” Tempest said as she continued ascending the steps back towards the sky bridge. “My techniques are those of a villain.”
“Then, maybe I’m the best pony to learn them.”
Tempest stopped and looked over her shoulder, back at Nyx.
Nyx had climbed up a few steps but still stood a respectful distance away. She did not crowd her way into Tempest’s personal space, as Pinkie Pie might have. Instead, she was at a comfortable conversation distance away, speaking clearly as she looked at Tempest with those slitted eyes: those teal eyes befitting a dragon.
“Maybe you knew it before the attack on Canterlot, or maybe you found out over the years since that day, but I know you know the story. You know you’re not the only one here that’s tried, and even succeeded, in taking over Equestria.”
Tempest had heard the story. She had heard it straight from Twilight’s mouth in the months after the Canterlot attack. She had asked Twilight where Nyx had come from and got a story much larger than she would have expected. Tempest turned back around, locking her eyes with Nyx’s gaze.
Nyx dared to take another step. “And we’re both here, living happier lives, because of my mother. She has done so much for Equestria. It’s the start of a golden age of friendship between Equestria and so many of our neighboring nations. Dragons, yaks, griffons, hippogryphs, kirin, and others… we’re becoming a global community. But…”
Tempest took a step back towards Nyx. “But what about the next time some megalomaniac raises an army and attacks. What about when some other villain escapes from stone or from Tartarus? What about the day to day, where wild creatures can turn violent and attack. Friendship may be the final solution, but…”
Nyx nodded her head, smiling a little as she seemed to sync up with Tempest’s train of thought. “If someone attacks, it can’t be the only line of defense. We have to be able to fight, if only to buy time. We need to have ponies who can do what my Uncle Shining did the day of the Storm King’s attack on Canterlot.”
Tempest kept glaring Nyx down, once more her feelings writhing and turning in her belly. Finally, Tempest’s firm, tight jawline broke. The corner of the right side of her mouth turned up in a smile.
“So… maybe Equestria does need a Princess of Air Superiority.”
Nyx blinked, glancing back at Shining before looking back at Tempest. “Uh… what?”
Tempest walked toward Nyx, stepping past her and approaching the stadium. “Nothing, just a little inside joke.” Tempest hopped over the barrier that separated the stands from the running track, then looked back over her shoulder. “Rest five more minutes, then get your flank down here. I need to see what I’m working with.”
Nyx smiled, snatching up her towel from where she had dropped it and a water bottle. She drank water and dried herself off vigorously, undeniably eager to be taught.
Shining nodded approvingly and scooped Flurry Heart up onto his back. “I better leave you to it, then. Dinner will be at—”
“And where do you think you’re going?” Tempest asked as she looked to Shining Armor. “I need to see where Nyx is in all her disciplines, which also means finding out what exactly you’ve taught her. I’m sure the magic is fine, but I need to know which bad habits you’ve taught her from your rank and file military training.”
“Are you saying I was a bad drill instructor?”
“No, I’m sure you taught the lessons well. That doesn’t mean they weren’t bad lessons.”
Shining, with just a little help from his magic, hopped down from the stands to the stadium’s running track. “You know, that was a cheap shot you pulled with the train that day. If it wasn’t for that, I bet I could have bucked your flank.”
“Is that a challenge?”
Flurry reared back on her hind legs, brought up her forehooves, and made a scary face. “Rawr!”
“You tell her, honey,” Shining said with a grin.
Tempest herself laughed as well, smiling as… she felt a click she hadn’t felt in many of her jobs. Something felt right about being a teacher, even if she had never considered it before. Helping another creature be better so they could do great things in the world. She had always felt she’d just be a bad influence. The only thing she could really teach other creatures was how to be violent. How to fight and win, against uneven odds.
But teaching other creatures to fight so they could defend others… maybe there was something to that. Maybe that was a way for her to put some good into the world she had caused so much pain in.
Author's Note
I hope everyone enjoyed this dip back into the AU of Past Sins. I know a large portion of it wasn't very Nyx focused, but I also saw this as an opportunity to fill in a gap I felt left by the MLP: Movie.
I do intend to do additional Follower Appreciate Days in the future, so if you liked the concept of the lottery, please keep an eye out for my next announcement blog. Maybe next time, the story I'm posting could be the one for your suggestion.
